A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. 



Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness.



People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fitness-focused-medicine-physical-activity-reduces-chronic-disease-risk/">physical health,</a> finances, and social support.



Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community identity. The pattern lines up with centuries-old settlement histories that still shape local norms today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-wellness-two-ways">Measuring wellness two ways</h2>



The team worked with data from the <a href="https://news.gallup.com/topic/well-being-index.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index</a> spanning 2009–2016 and grouped responses into two broader composites.



“Traditional” wellness bundles tangible aspects of life - physical and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-crisis-half-of-the-worlds-population-will-be-affected-by-age-75/">mental health</a>, financial security, and day-to-day social support. 



“Existential” wellness captures the less tangible side - purpose, personal growth, community belonging, and living in line with one’s values.



Separating the two helps explain why some places thrive on paper (jobs, hospitals, income) yet still report a thinner sense of meaning - or the reverse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-old-map-explains-modern-feelings"><a></a>An old map explains modern feelings</h2>



To test whether regional culture matters in wellness, the researchers turned to the American Nations Model. 



This framework divides the U.S. into historical “nations” based on who settled there first. Think Yankeedom, the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and others.



Each region inherited durable folkways about trust, autonomy, community, and authority. Even after accounting for education and income, these cultural footprints predicted distinctive wellness profiles where people live.



The headline split was clear. Northeastern and Midwestern regions, including Yankeedom, leaned higher on traditional wellness. 



Several Southern and frontier-legacy regions - such as the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and parts of the Far West - leaned higher on existential wellness.



In other words, the balance of “health and money” versus “purpose and belonging” shifts in systematic ways across the cultural map.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-differences-stand-out">Wellness differences stand out</h2>



Statistically, the contrasts weren’t subtle. In within-region comparisons, traditional wellness significantly exceeded existential wellness in Yankeedom.



Existential wellness was higher in the Deep South and especially Greater Appalachia - the largest reversal in the set.



Several other regions showed smaller or no gaps, demonstrating that not every place fits a single mold.



These effects held in mixed-effects models that controlled for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-education-matters-for-healthy-aging-and-longevity/">education</a> and income and accounted for clustering within metropolitan areas.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard" class="wp-image-1985865"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Click image to enlarge. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture-race-and-wellness">Culture, race, and wellness</h2>



The study also looked at Black and Hispanic residents across regions. Patterns generally echoed the broader map. 



Black and Hispanic respondents tended to show higher traditional wellness in Northeastern and Midwestern regions. They also reported higher existential wellness in Southern regions.



Notably, Black respondents showed consistently lower traditional wellness than white respondents across regions. In the Northeast and Midwest, they also fared worse on existential wellness. 



Together, these patterns suggest that material constraints and structural disparities remain powerful drivers.



At the same time, the relatively stronger existential scores in many Southern contexts may reflect the buffering role of community networks and cultural identity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-roots-of-wellness">Cultural roots of wellness</h2>



Culture shapes where institutions flourish (hospitals, schools, civic groups), how people relate to one another (trust, norms of reciprocity), and what counts as a good life (autonomy vs. solidarity, achievement vs. belonging).



Those long-running preferences influence migration, policy choices, and investments that, over time, help set the table for different “flavors” of well-being.



The authors found the pattern persisted even after adjusting for education and income, and they reported model checks to reduce issues like multicollinearity among predictors.



That suggests the American Nations framework isn’t just a clever historical story - it adds real explanatory power to why wellness feels different in different parts of the country.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-policy-must-fit-culture">Wellness policy must fit culture</h2>



If you want to boost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simply-looking-at-art-can-improve-your-well-being/">well-being</a>, focusing only on income or clinics may miss what makes people feel whole in a given place.



In regions that already score high on traditional metrics, investing in community identity, public spaces, and opportunities for contribution might move the needle on meaning and purpose.



In places rich in existential wellness but poorer on traditional metrics, policies that improve access to preventive care, stable work, and safety nets could pay outsized dividends.



Put simply, the study argues that wellness strategies work best when they respect the cultural ecologies where people live - strengthening what’s already strong while shoring up what’s thin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-and-a-next-step"><a></a>Limits - and a next step</h2>



This is an observational study using self-reported survey data; it can’t prove cause and effect. The American Nations borders blur in real life, people move, and city-level differences within regions can be large.



Still, with more than 325,000 respondents across 110 metro areas and eight years of data, the signal is hard to ignore. 



The authors call for digging into mechanisms: Which specific institutions or community practices best translate cultural inheritance into day-to-day well-being? 



And which levers - health infrastructure, schooling, neighborhood design, civic organizations - offer the highest return in each region?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-place-and-culture-shape-wellness">Place and culture shape wellness</h2>



Where you live doesn’t just shape your paycheck and your hospital bill. It also shapes how you experience a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/creativity-improves-life-satisfaction-and-overall-well-being/">good life</a> - whether that’s feeling financially secure and physically well, or feeling rooted in purpose and community.



The United States’ oldest settlement patterns still echo in those experiences today. 



They remind policymakers that the most effective pathways to human flourishing may look different from Boston to Birmingham to El Paso.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327972" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Wellness in America depends on culture and where you live

A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness. People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes physical health, finances, and social support. Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community...

Is determination the key to success or will perseverance only get you so far? 

This is the question researchers from the<a href="https://www.aka.fi/en"> Academy of Finland</a> asked in a new study examining how much “grit” influences <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/time-parents-kids-academic-success/">academic achievement</a>. 

The study, published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, defines grit as consistency of interest and perseverance of effort, and the researchers drew from a sample of more than 2,000 students in Finland, following the students from grades 6 through 9. 

The researchers wanted to see to what extent growth mindset and committing to academic goals impacted grit or whether grit was the go-between for achieving educational goals and growth. 

“A key element of grit is high persistence in the face of difficulties and setbacks,” said Kateriinna Salmela-Aro, the leader of the study. “Mere purpose without grit does not lead to anything, but grit needs a purpose.”

The researchers found that grit was the most significant indicator of academic success and that perseverance had a stronger influence on goal commitment compared to interest and passion in a topic. 

In other words, determination and perseverance helped students succeed in school and maintain higher grades throughout their academic careers. 

“Our study shows the power of grit,” said Kateriina Salmela-Aro, the leader of the study. “The results persist even if we control for personality traits, such as conscientiousness and academic persistence. Young people should see the meaning of everyday school work as part of life in a broader context and establish achievable goals for themselves.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Grit really does lead to academic success, study shows

Is determination the key to success or will perseverance only...

A new study from <a href="https://english.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a> has revealed that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-neanderthals-cannibalism/">Neanderthals</a> and woolly mammoths shared DNA that allowed them to adapt to freezing cold environments hundreds of thousands of years ago. The researchers also discovered genes that the ancient humans and animals had in common which would have increased the production of hair and skin.

“Neanderthals and mammoths lived together in Europe during the Ice Age. The evidence suggests that Neanderthals hunted and ate mammoths for tens of thousands of years and were actually physically dependent on calories extracted from mammoths for their successful adaptation,” said study co-lead author Professor Barkai. “Neanderthals depended on mammoths for their very existence.”

“They say you are what you eat. This was especially true of Neanderthals; they ate mammoths but were apparently also genetically similar to mammoths.”

To investigate these similarities, the archaeologists reviewed three case studies that compared the genomes of woolly mammoths and Neanderthals. 

The first case study described the mutual appearance of the LEPR gene, which is related to thermogenesis and fat storage in the body. The second study found genes related to keratin protein activity in both species, and the third study focused on skin and hair pigmentation variants in the genes MC1R and SLC7A11.

“Our observations present the likelihood of resemblance between numerous molecular variants that resulted in similar cold-adapted epigenetic traits of two species, both of which evolved in Eurasia from an African ancestor,” explained study co-lead author Meidad Kislev. “These remarkable findings offer supporting evidence for the contention regarding the nature of convergent evolution through molecular resemblance, in which similarities in genetic variants between adapted species are present.”

“We believe these types of connections can be valuable for future evolutionary research. They're especially interesting when they involve other large-brained mammals, with long life spans, complex social behavior and their interactions in shared habitats with early humans.”

The researchers concluded that both species likely had ancestors that came from Africa and adapted to living conditions in Ice Age Europe. The species also became extinct at around the same time.

“It is now possible to try to answer a question no one has asked before: Are there genetic similarities between evolutionary adaptation paths in Neanderthals and mammoths?” said Professor Barkai. “The answer seems to be yes. This idea alone opens endless avenues for new research in evolution, archaeology and other disciplines.”

“At a time when proboscideans are under threat of disappearance from the world due to the ugly human greed for ivory, highlighting our shared history and similarities with elephants and mammoths might be a point worth taking into consideration.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/human-biology">Human Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Neanderthals and woolly mammoths shared much of the same DNA

A new study from Tel Aviv University has revealed that...

Poor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-deprivation-damages-dna-cancer/">sleep quality</a> may be genetic, according to one of the largest new studies of its kind. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> along with an international team from France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the <a href="https://www.med.upenn.edu/sleepctr/">Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology</a> in Pennsylvania and <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/">Massachusetts General Hospital</a> conducted the study. 

It’s the largest genetic study of its kind to use accelerometer data to investigate the potential genetic links to poor sleep quality and sleep deprivation. 

“We know that getting enough sleep improves our health and wellbeing, yet we still know relatively little about the mechanisms in our bodies that influence how we sleep,” said Andrew Wood, the senior author of the study. “Changes in sleep quality, quantity and timing are strongly associated with several human diseases such as diabetes and obesity, and psychiatric disorders.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

The researchers reviewed and analyzed data from 85,670 participants of the UK Biobank and 5,819 participants from three other studies. 

All participants wore accelerometers on their wrist, which constantly measure activity levels and are a reliable way to measure and assess sleep habits compared to self-reported sleep diaries.

After analyzing the data, the researchers identified 47 genetic links to sleep quality, duration, and timing including 10 new links to sleep duration and 26 to sleep quality that were previously unknown. 

These links, including a gene called PDE11A, could explain why some people have trouble staying asleep, falling asleep, or getting enough restful deep sleep. 

A variant of the PDE11A gene, for example, was found to impact sleep duration and quality. 

The genetic links to sleep quality were also connected to the production of serotonin which is important in influencing sleep cycles and deep sleep. 

“This study identifies genetic variants influencing sleep traits, and will provide new insights into the molecular role of sleep in humans,” said Samuel Jones, the lead author of the study. “It is part of an emerging body of work which could one day inform the development of new treatments to improve our sleep and our overall health.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Can’t sleep? Your genes may be to blame

Poor sleep quality may be genetic, according to one of...

We all know the many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-reduces-cancer-risk/">proven benefits to exercising</a>, but some people are daunted by the idea of hitting the gym every day for a physically demanding work out. 

However, researchers from the <a href="https://www.gih.se/in-english/">Swedish School of Sport and Health Science</a> say that exercising more could be as simple as taking the stairs every day rather than ramping up a workout to the extreme. 

“People think they have to start going to the gym and exercising hard to get fitter,” said Dr. Elin Ekblom-Bak, an author of the study. “But it doesn't have to be that complicated. For most people, just being more active in daily life - taking the stairs, exiting the metro a station early, cycling to work - is enough to benefit health since levels are so low to start with. The more you do, the better.”

Exercising more, regardless of what level of physical fitness you start at, is one of the best ways to increase longevity and live a longer, healthier life, according to a new study presented at <a href="https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-%26-Events/EuroPrevent">EuroPrevent 2019.</a>

The study was the largest cardiorespiratory fitness study to date and included data on 316,137 adults aged 18 to 74 who had a health screening between 1995 and 2015 in Sweden. 

Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 Max) was used to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, as VO2 Max measures the maximum amount of oxygen the heart and lungs can provide the muscles during physical activity. 

The researchers also reviewed Swedish national registries to find information on all-cause mortality and first-time cardiovascular events that occurred within the same time frame. 

Overall the researchers found that the risk of all-cause mortality dropped 2.8 percent and heart attacks dropped by 3.2 percent the more VO2 Max increased.

Each milliliter increase in VO2 Max decreased the risk of death and heart attack. 

These positive benefits were experienced by all age groups and held true for both men and women. 

“It is particularly important to note that an increase in fitness was beneficial regardless of the starting point,” said Ekblom-Bak. “This suggests that people with lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness have the most to gain from boosting their fitness.”

The study emphasizes the importance of physical fitness but shows that even at the most basic of levels, a little exercise goes a long way in helping people live longer. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Simple ways of moving more can help you live longer, research shows

We all know the many proven benefits to exercising, but...

A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.utk.edu/">University of Tennessee, Knoxville</a> (UT) has found evidence to support the theory that the simple act of smiling can make people feel happier. The experts analyzed nearly 50 years of data on how facial expressions affect our emotions. 

“Conventional wisdom tells us that we can feel a little happier if we simply smile. Or that we can get ourselves in a more serious mood if we scowl,” said study lead author Nicholas Coles, who is a PhD student in Social Psychology at UT. “But psychologists have actually disagreed about this idea for over 100 years.”

The debate heated up in 2016, when 17 research teams were unable to replicate the results of a well-known experiment showing that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/smiling-babies-responding-parents/">smiling</a> can trigger happy feelings. 

“Some studies have not found evidence that facial expressions can influence emotional feelings,” said Coles. “But we can't focus on the results of any one study. Psychologists have been testing this idea since the early 1970s, so we wanted to look at all the evidence.”


The researchers used a statistical technique called meta-analysis to examine the results of 138 studies involving more than 11,000 participants from around the globe. The study revealed that facial expressions have a small, yet significant, impact on feelings. 

According to the meta-analysis, just as smiling makes people feel happier, scowling makes them feel angrier or frowning makes them feel sadder.

“We don't think that people can smile their way to happiness,” said Coles. “But these findings are exciting because they provide a clue about how the mind and the body interact to shape our conscious experience of emotion. We still have a lot to learn about these facial feedback effects, but this meta-analysis put us a little closer to understanding how emotions work.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/bul/">Psychological Bulletin</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Smiling really can make you feel happier, research shows

A team of researchers led by the University of Tennessee,...

Researchers from the <a href="https://medschool.ucsd.edu/Pages/default.aspx">University of California San Diego School of Medicine</a> examined how a long-term stay in space can affect a human body on a molecular, physiological, and behavioral level via a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> twin study. The team looked into how space can affect the bodily regulation of proteins and metabolites, and how impact <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exposure-radiation-astronaut-lives/">space travel</a> can have on cardiovascular health and vision, among other things.

"This first-of-its-kind investigation has provided clues about how a long duration space flight changes the regulation of molecules in the body and the relationship of these changes with physiological changes in the body due to space flight such as vascular remodeling and vision problems," said senior author Brinda Rana, PhD, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine. 

She continued, "Not only does the study provide insight into the body's response to space flight, by simultaneously studying the astronaut's identical twin brother who served as our 'ground control,' we captured an integrated view of the molecular, behavioral and physiological changes experienced by a middle-aged man on Earth over a two-year period."

Identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly were studied by 10 teams of investigators while Scott stayed at the International Space Station (ISS) for 342 days in 2015 and 2016, and Mark remained on Earth.

"A primary issue that astronauts have in space is Space-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome or SANS," Rana said. "Many astronauts develop SANS-related vision impairment that may be the result of multiple hits on the vascular system involving microgravity-related fluid shifts, environmental changes, and possibly a genetic predisposition."

Rana also stated that cardiovascular changes similar to atherosclerosis, an arterial disease, have also been observed in astronauts who have returned home after a long-duration flight. “Both SANS and cardiovascular issues are major physiological hurdles which <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">NASA</a> wants to address before they can embark on longer space flight missions, such as the proposed mission to Mars in the 2030s."

Biofluid samples were collected and transported from the ISS while Scott was mid-travel. It was difficult to collect enough blood for 10 investigative teams to study, however Rana said researchers put protocols in action to prevent astronaut dehydration.

One such finding from the study, which will be published in <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>, was that the teams found Scott exhibited an increase in collagen proteins in his urine while at the ISS compared to his brother at home. This correlates with indications of vascular remodeling during space flight.

"The overall Twins Study demonstrated the resilience and robustness of how a human body can adapt to a multitude of changes induced by the spaceflight environment, such as microgravity, radiation, circadian disruption, elevated CO2, isolation from friends and family and dietary limitations," Rana said. "The results will serve as a roadmap for future interdisciplinary studies aimed at better understanding potential health risks of long-duration missions and developing personalized countermeasures."

-- 

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How does a year in space impact the human body?

Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of...

New research from the <a href="https://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a> shows that, regardless of religion, people who have a greater sense of oneness — that being the belief that everything in the world is connected and interdependent — appear to be more satisfied with life in comparison with those who are disconnected from oneness.

"The feeling of being at one with a divine principle, life, the world, other people or even activities has been discussed in various religious traditions but also in a wide variety of scientific research from different disciplines," said study author Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, PhD, of the <a href="https://www.uni-mannheim.de/en/">University of Mannheim</a>. "The results of this study reveal a significant positive effect of oneness beliefs on life satisfaction, even controlling for religious beliefs."

Edinger-Schons’s study, published in the AMA journal <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/rel">Psychology of Religion and Spirituality</a>, relied on two surveys that involved nearly 75,000 German participants. Participants of the first study were asked to respond to a series of questions aimed at measuring their belief in oneness. They were also instructed to respond to concepts like social connectedness, connectedness to nature, and empathy as well as life satisfaction.

Using the responses from the survey, Edinger-Schon was able to determine that people who scored high in the belief of oneness often exhibited greater satisfaction in life. To determine if oneness was a fixed construct or a changing variable, Edinger-Schon gave the same participants the same survey six weeks later. Those who responded shows the same amount of belief in oneness that they did weeks earlier.

"Obviously, oneness beliefs are more than a situation-specific feeling or mood," Edinger-Schon said. "They rather seem to represent a general attitude toward life."

In the second survey, Edinger-Schon wanted to see if belief in oneness was connected to one’s overall satisfaction with life, above <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/religion-shaped-environment-views/">religion</a>, believing that oneness may enhance satisfaction more than religious beliefs.

"I recognized that in various philosophical and religious texts, a central idea is the idea of oneness," she said. "In my free time, I enjoy surfing, Capoeira, meditation and yoga, and all of these have been said to lead to experiences that can be described as being at one with life or nature or just experiencing a state of flow through being immersed in the activity. I was wondering whether the larger belief in oneness is something that is independent of religious beliefs and how it affects satisfaction with life."

She surveyed a variety of participants with different religious affiliations, including atheism, and found that oneness scores did vary by religion, however, oneness scores were more linked to satisfaction in life in comparison with religious beliefs.

"I did not find it surprising that atheists have the lowest levels of oneness beliefs in the sample, but what surprised me was that oneness beliefs were actually very different across various religious affiliations, with Muslims having the highest levels," Edinger-Schon said. "Also, when oneness beliefs were taken into account, many of the positive effects of religious affiliation on life satisfaction disappeared."

She concludes that enhancing oneness via yoga, meditation, sports, or access to nature, may improve one’s satisfaction with one’s life.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Having a sense of oneness gives people greater satisfaction in life

New research from the American Psychological Association shows that, regardless...

The so-called sixth mass extinction may have first caught flame at the end of the last ice age, but it's turned into an inferno in today's warming world. The blame, unlike with previous mass extinctions, lies largely at the feet of one species: us. But how have we done it? From ice-age humans' overhunting of megafauna to today's warming climate, humans have remade the biosphere in an alarming — but fascinatingly — evolving way. 

Number 6?

Five times in prehistory, a mass extinction event decimated Earth's life, with <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/big-five-extinctions">at least 75%</a> of the planet's species disappearing. Many scientists say we've entered the sixth one: the "Holocene mass extinction," named for the current geological epoch (to 11,7000 years ago), which coincides with humanity's rise from hunter-gathering to world dominance.

Evidence comes from <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/269/5222/347">extinction rates</a>, which are now 100 to 1,000 times the normal (or "background') rate of extinction, studies show. 

"The rapidity and global nature of species loss in such a short amount of time does seem to increasingly warrant characterization of a mass extinction," said Jennifer Crees, a biodiversity researcher at the <a href="https://www.zsl.org/">Zoological Society of London</a>. "It is indubitably human-caused."

Not all scientists agree, however. Duke University biologist Stuart Pimm said, "It's a worry, it's beginning to happen, but it hasn't happened yet." 

First spears fired

That debate aside, humans may have been wiping out species for a long time — since the last ice age (Pleistocene) gave way to the Holocene. The disappearance of megafauna repeatedly follows the arrival of humans to bodies of land, particularly islands. Natural climate change likely played a role in those extinctions. But many scientists argue that human hunting killed off the mammoth in North America, the moa in New Zealand and others.

Early humans could cause such extensive losses because people aren't like other predators, said <a href="https://www.unl.edu/">University of Nebraska-Lincoln</a> biologist Kate Lyons. First, we don't follow the typical predator-prey cycles, with predator populations falling in response to overhunting.

The human intellect also supercharged our hunting prowess, giving us tools like the spear-hurling atlatl. In Australia, some 20,000 years passed between human's arrival and the megafaunal wipeout. In the Americas, it took just 3,000 years. 

"But humans hadn't developed the atlatl in Australia," Lyons said. "In North and South America, they had."

Transforming the land

Early humans may also have contributed to extinctions by using fire to clear areas for more-accessible plants. The big leap in extinctions, however, came with the transformations of the agricultural revolution, said <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford</a> biologist Paul Erhlich. 

Agriculture converts enormous areas of biodiverse habitat in, for example, the Amazon to grazing areas. Forest and wetlands converted to fields offer <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1691371/">poorer resources</a> for wildlife. 

"We're getting more and more areas turned to agriculture, which clobbers biodiversity," Ehrlich said.

Humans have also destroyed species' habitats via urban development, bleaching coral due to CO2 emissions and other means. Overall, our land use could rob 1,700 species of 50% of their habitat over the next half-century, a recent <a href="http://fortune.com/2019/03/06/human-land-use-study/">Yale study</a> found. 

Climate change

Like many other human activities, today's agriculture also pumps out a lot of climate-changing gases. And an altered climate puts even more extinction pressure on Earth's biota.

Species may not be able to tolerate hotter temperatures, Crees said. For example, "rises in temperatures cause bleaching and disease outbreaks in coral reefs," she said. 

Climate change can also shift habitats, turning species' homes into desert or raising sea level around land-based critters. "Species may not be able to move or adapt in time," Crees said.

[caption id="attachment_1871049" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/coral-bleaching.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1871049" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/coral-bleaching.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="366" /></a> Coral bleaching[/caption]

Overexploitation

Even as broader human activity transforms climate and habitat, hunting still plays a role in extinction — as just part of modern humanity's overexploitation of nature. 

"Hunting and harvesting of animals and plants for e.g. food, traditional medicine and the pet trade are causing major crashes in populations," Crees said.

Today's trophy hunters may hasten the extinction of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/19/giraffes-endangered-species-conservation-hunting">giraffes</a>, while poachers threaten <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/world/africa/african-elephant-population-dropped-30-percent-in-7-years.html?_r=1">elephants</a>. Modern fishing methods, like trawling, devastate marine populations. 

The pangolin, a mammal prized for both its meat and unusual scales, faces widespread poaching, with <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/pangolins-world-day-most-trafficked-mammal-scales-meat-china-africa-wwf-a8214726.html">300 killed</a> every day.

"I saw a report of intercepting shipments … of tons not of pangolins, but of pangolin scales," Ehrlich said. "We are wiping out what we can."

Spreading fungi, cats and plastic

Beyond the those massive effects, humans have imposed extinction pressures by introducing disease, invasive species and pollution globally. Spread via travel and wildlife trade, for instance, the fungi-caused disease chytridiomycosis has killed off some <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6434/1459">90 amphibian species</a>.

Human-introduced non-native species can outcompete locals, Crees said, and domesticated carnivores, including Fluffy and Fido, severely endanger creatures who evolved without such threats. 

Pollution affects species like the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/27/orca-apocalypse-half-of-killer-whales-doomed-to-die-from-pollution">orca</a>, which faces population collapses due to PCBs. Meanwhile, vast quantities of <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2951256/Study-World-dumps-8-8-million-tons-plastics-oceans.html">plastic</a> endanger <a href="https://archive.fo/20130415201331/http:/www.seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1751">turtles</a> that may ingest our trash.

A tangled web

These varied extinction pressures rarely act in isolation, however, Crees stressed. 

"Species are often driven to extinction by a combination and often-complex interaction between these factors," she said.

In a case Ehrlich studied, pollution and climate came together to put extreme pressures on butterflies.

Nitrogen from automobile traffic changed the food plants available for the butterflies. Meanwhile, climate change altered when remaining food plants were available, so they didn't appear when the butterflies flew. "We had three populations of the butterfly … and all three of them were wiped out."

Globally, insects, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-extinct-century/">as Earth.com reported</a> in February, are vanishing due to similar combinations of agricultural effects and climate change.

The lives we save…

The threat to insects highlights what humanity stands to lose, Ehrlich said. "The other organisms on the planet are our life-support system," he said. "Without them, our crops can't be pollinated. Our water can't be purified."

To address that threat, Ehrlich advises reducing consumption and conserving habitat – which humanity has actually been doing quite well, Pimm said.

"We've massively expanded the areas in the planet that we have protected," he said. "We need to do a lot more … but equally, it's a mistake to think that it's all over."

--

By <a href="mailto:michael.dhar@gmail.com">Michael Dhar</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

How humans hunted, farmed and warmed their way to the 6th mass extinction

The so-called sixth mass extinction may have first caught flame...

Water reallocation, where water is transferred from rural areas to cities to meet <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/increasing-supply-water-shortages/">water demands</a>, has been systematically reviewed at the global level for the first time in a new study. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> examined water reallocation worldwide to see how much city populations depend on rural water sources and predict how growing city populations will impact water demand.

Currently, 69 cities with populations at 383 million people get 16 billion cubic meters of reallocated water per year, according to the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. 

Twenty-one cities including Amman in Jordan and Hyderabad in India depend on multiple water reallocation projects to meet demand. 

Rural to urban water reallocation is only expected to increase, particularly in areas of Asia and North America, the researchers say. 

There has been limited research and data on water reallocation in the past. To remedy this, an international collaboration of researchers reviewed and analyzed almost 100 publications that focused on water reallocation and urban water demand to produce a global reallocation database. 

However, the researchers say there are still some major gaps in the data, and limited data from some of the most vulnerable regions of the world could make future water reallocation research and policies challenging. 

“The global figures represent the tip of the iceberg - a lower-bound estimate," said Dr. Dustin Garrick, the lead author of the study. “Our review shows that we are woefully underestimating the size and scale, as well as the costs and benefits of rural-to-urban water reallocation, due to major blind spots in the data, particularly where South America and Africa are concerned.”

Global urban populations have quadrupled since 1960 and this has created more demand for water in urban areas and it's a trend that will only continue, as 2.5 billion more people are expected to inhabit urban cities by 2050. 

The researchers found that cities hold most of the power in terms of economic and political sway in water deals and sometimes this can result in an unfair deal that harms rural populations. 

The team says that reallocation can create deep resentment between rural and urban areas unless careful considerations are made for both parties. 

“Our research indicates that governance matters,” said Dr. Dustin Garrick, the lead author of the study. “Cities and rural regions need forums to negotiate deals, assuage conflicts, mitigate impacts and share the benefits from these projects.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Growing city populations will put pressure on rural water sources

Water reallocation, where water is transferred from rural areas to...

An international team of researchers has discovered the 50,000 year-old remains of a previously unknown species of human in the Philippines. The new species has been named Homo luzonensis after Luzon Island, where the fossils were found in the Callao Cave.

The research supports the idea that this region played an important role in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earliest-hominins-migrating/">hominin evolutionary history</a>. Study co-author Professor Philip Piper from <a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/">The Australian National University</a> (ANU) said the findings represent a major breakthrough in our understanding of human evolution across Southeast Asia.

The fossils, which were obtained from within the same archaeological deposits, belonged to at least two adults and one juvenile.

“The fossil remains included adult finger and toe bones, as well as teeth. We also recovered a child's femur. There are some really interesting features - for example, the teeth are really small,” said Professor Piper.

“The size of the teeth generally, though not always, reflect the overall body-size of a mammal, so we think Homo luzonensis was probably relatively small. Exactly how small we don't know yet. We would need to find some skeletal elements from which we could measure body-size more precisely.”

“It's quite incredible, the extremities, that is the hand and feet bones are remarkably Australopithecine-like. The Australopithecines last walked the earth in Africa about 2 million years ago and are considered to be the ancestors of the Homo group, which includes modern humans.”

“So, the question is whether some of these features evolved as adaptations to island life, or whether they are anatomical traits passed down to Homo luzonensis from their ancestors over the preceding 2 million years.”

The origins of Homo luzonensis and their duration on the island of Luzon are not yet known. Recent excavations near Callao Cave produced evidence of a butchered rhinoceros and stone tools dating back about 700,000 years.

“No hominin fossils were recovered, but this does provide a timeframe for a hominin presence on Luzon. Whether it was Homo luzonensis butchering and eating the rhinoceros remains to be seen,” said Professor Piper said.

“It makes the whole region really significant. The Philippines is made up of a group of large islands that have been separated long enough to have potentially facilitated archipelago speciation. There is no reason why archaeological research in the Philippines couldn't discover several species of hominin. It's probably just a matter of time.”

There is evidence to suggest that Homo luzonensis may have inhabited many of the large islands of Southeast Asia. In addition, the remains share some unique skeletal features with the hobbit, or Homo floresiensis, which were found southeast of the Philippines on the island of Flores.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Callao Cave Research Project

New species of ancient humans discovered in the Philippines

An international team of researchers has discovered the 50,000 year-old...

The recent kidnapping of Sue Endicott, an American woman on safari in Uganda, for a $500,000 ransom has gained a great deal of attention in the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/american-kim-sue-endicott-guide-rescued-kidnapping-ordeal/story?id=62217724">media</a> lately.  Endicott and her guide were rescued, bringing the story to a happy conclusion.  Unfortunately, most of the media coverage looks at the kidnapping as either an isolated instance or a sign of how dangerous Uganda is for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tourism-light-pollution-sea-turtle/">tourists</a>.  Few delve into the deeper problems in a country full of corruption with many recent kidnappings of locals. The issues are deeper than the instance of one American being kidnapped and involve our own government, our own tourist and tax dollars, as well as problems in the Ugandan government.    

Tourism is big business, especially in Africa.  According to a report by the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Africa/Report/africa-tourism-report-2013-overview.pdf">World Bank</a>, 8.8% of the world’s jobs are supported in some way by tourism.  Sub-Saharan Africa attracted 6.7 million visitors in 1990, but grew that number to 33.8 million visitors in 2012.  Income from tourism in sub-Saharan Africa in 2012 amounted to greater than US$36 billion, accounting for 2.8% of the region’s GDP directly.  According to the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/africas-tourism-potential/">Brookings Institute</a>, Africa is projected to reach $261.77 Billion in tourism profit by 2030.  Uganda is one of the African nations profiting from tourism. 

Uganda is known for its spectacular African wildlife. It is also one of the places where tourists can pay to visit gorillas in the wild.  The <a href="https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-uganda-kidnapping-ransom-20190404-story.html">Los Angeles Times</a> quoted official sources claiming that Uganda made US$1.37 Billion from tourism in 2016, this is one of Uganda’s greatest sources of foreign income.  Gorilla tourism is an important part of tourism in Uganda as a whole. According to a <a href="http://www.igcp.org/wp-content/themes/igcp/docs/pdf/MoyiniUganda.pdf">report</a> from the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP):

“Gorilla tourism, is the single most important asset over which Uganda has an absolute comparative advantage when compared to Kenya and Tanzania.”

It is estimated that if developed to full capacity in Uganda, gorilla tourism is worth $7-33 million annually.  Uganda has bigger problems than catering to tourists, though. The country has been plagued recently with a large amount of kidnappings, usually of women and sometimes children for ransoms.

<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/06/africa/ugandan-activists-parliament-coffin/index.html">CNN</a> reported in June of last year that protestors were carrying mock coffins to protest government inaction over the rise in kidnappings.  In fact, according to police, 42 kidnappings were reported in 4 months. At least one woman was reported to have been raped and killed after her family didn’t pay her ransom.  In total, eight victims of kidnappings died by last summer. A police spokesman told CNN that many people have been staging their own kidnappings in order to get money. Kidnappings of civilians is only one small part of the greater problems of corruption and ineptitude in the government of Uganda.  

President Yoweri Museveni has been in power in Uganda since 1986 and recently removed legal restrictions limiting the upper age limit of president, allowing him to run again in 2021.  A member of the Ugandan Parliament and vocal critic of the president, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (AKA Bobi Wine), released a <a href="https://bobiwine.com/2018/09/05/bobi-wine-and-robert-amsterdam-to-hold-washington-dc-press-conference/#more-482">press statement</a> through his American lawyer calling on the US to stop military aid to Uganda.  He said that the Ugandan government tortured him and another member of parliament for their opposition of the government.  The statement told American taxpayers that their tax dollars pay for the torture of political advisories in Uganda. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uganda-politics-wine/u-s-should-suspend-military-aid-to-uganda-lawyer-for-critic-of-museveni-idUSKCN1LM2OU">Reuters</a> reports that the US is a major supplier of military aid to Uganda, giving cash, equipment and training.  President Museveni warned against outside influence of his government.

[caption id="attachment_1871053" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/tourists.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1871053" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/tourists.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="313" /></a> Tourists taking a boat trip on Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda, Image Credit: Shutterstock[/caption]

In September of last year, while pressure grew for the US to cut off military aid to Uganda, President Museveni made a speech calling on foreign nations to allow him to handle Ugandan problems, in response to the press release by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uganda-politics/uganda-warns-against-interference-as-pressure-mounts-on-us-to-cut-military-support-idUSKCN1LP0SE">Reuters</a>.  So far the US has turned a blind eye on it’s indirect involvement in human rights violations in Uganda.  Nothing stands in the way of Museveni running for president again in 2021, the same year that oil production is set to begin in Uganda.  US involvement in this region of Africa is nothing new.

In 1999, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-03-03-9903030134-story.html">The Chicago Tribune</a> reported that Rwandan rebels kidnapped and killed eight foreign tourists in Uganda to see wild mountain gorillas.  Six other tourists escaped alive. The rebels were specifically targeting American and British tourists, reportedly because of those government’s interference in local issues.  The rebels started by killing rangers and searching camps for tourists. Those killed were hacked and mutilated with machetes and left with notes saying, "Americans and British, we don't want you on our land. You support our enemy." This was the last kidnapping of an American in Uganda until the one that just ended recently, about two decades later.  

It’s still not clear who kidnapped Sue Endicott and her guide.  If there’s an ulterior motive besides the ransom, officials aren’t talking about it.  Endicott in the end was rescued by a joint security forces and it seems the US played a minor role in rescuing her.  It’s not clear if any of the ransom was paid or who may have paid it. What is clear is that the US continues to meddle in Ugandan and African affairs with little regard for the wellbeing of locals or tourists.  It’s also clear that despite the kidnappings of so many local people, it took the kidnapping of an American woman for Ugandan officials to take the situation seriously and for western media to pay attention. All too often we act like the whole of a place like Africa is but the backdrop for our own vacations or volunteer trips.  

Perhaps danger to foreign tourists will make Americans and hopefully officials pay closer attention to our own culpability in maintaining a status quo of dysfunction in Africa.  As for the gorillas Endicott wanted so badly to see, they suffer along with the people. Years of violence impact wildlife and humans alike, allowing in poachers and creating unstable government protections of habitat and wildlife.      

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer      

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: Cheryl Ramalho/Shutterstock

Recent kidnapping highlights trouble with American involvement in Uganda

The recent kidnapping of Sue Endicott, an American woman on...

Take a minute and picture your favorite color. Does that color remind you of a happy memory or make you feel a particular emotion? 

These are the kind of questions wrapped up in the field of color psychology as researchers work to understand our complex relationship and connection to different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/color-fruit-evolved-attract-animals/">colors</a>.

The paper company, <a href="https://www.gfsmith.com/">G.F Smith</a>, is taking this research to the next level and has conducted a comprehensive report centered around one main idea: is it possible to find a color that perfectly encapsulates our current global culture and society?

In other words, G.F Smith along with the <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a> are on a mission to find the world's favorite color. 

The <a href="https://worldsfavouritecolour.info/">World’s Favorite Colour report</a> includes survey responses from 25,596 people from over 100 countries as the researchers worked to find color connections that cross cultures and countries. 

Participants in the project were asked about their favorite color and what words they associated with that particular color. Anna Franklin, an expert in color psychology and a professor at the University of Essex led the research. 

Some of the most common words that people associate with their favorite colors were “happy,” “calm,” “bright,” and “vibrant.” 

The researchers found that certain colors had universal appeal in terms of how they made people feel and what emotions they elicited. 

For example, people tend to link red, blue and orange shades with strength, but dark blue, pink, and turquoise were associated with calmness.

[caption id="attachment_1871070" align="aligncenter" width="631"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/12061508-0-image-a-40_1554830407499.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1871070" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/12061508-0-image-a-40_1554830407499.jpg" alt="" width="631" height="406" /></a> Image Credit: G.F. Smith/University of Sussex[/caption]

Green was connected to the feeling people get when they think about the future and luxury was associated with purples and whites. 

“Colour has always had an intrinsic relationship with our culture and is woven into our consciousness,” G.F Smith Joint Managing Director John Haslam, the G.F Smith Joint Managing Director stated in the report. “The fascinating results and their relevance are shared in the report — inspiring the world to think differently about the role and value of colour in our lives.”

[caption id="attachment_1871071" align="aligncenter" width="634"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/12061516-0-image-a-43_1554830412512.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1871071" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/12061516-0-image-a-43_1554830412512.jpg" alt="" width="634" height="391" /></a> Image Credit: G.F. Smith/University of Sussex[/caption]

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Navy, pink and turquoise are the colors most associated with relaxation

Take a minute and picture your favorite color. Does that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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